Managing Journal Entries in arkGL

This guide walks you through adding, uploading, editing, posting, and deleting journal entries in arkGL. Journal entries form the foundation for ark’s accounting processes and are directly tied to core features across the platform. These include generating entries when publishing Capital Calls and Distributions, creating or linking entries from transactions in the Bank Feeds and Cash Receipt pages and recording investment-related activity from the Schedule of Investments (SOI). Journal entry totals can also be synced into Allocation files, and serve as a key data source in GL Reports.

Jump to a Section

• What You’ll Learn

• Who Can Use This Feature

• Before You Begin

• Step-by-Step: Adding Journal Entries

• Step-by-Step: Posting Journal Entries

• Step-by-Step: Editing or Deleting Journal Entries

• How Journal Entries Connect to Other Workflows

• Best Practices

• FAQ

• Next Steps

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to:

• Add journal entries manually or in bulk

• Tag entries with funds, investors, portfolio companies, or memo entities

• Post entries to the General Ledger

• Reverse, edit, or delete draft entries

• Understand how journal entries integrate with allocations, capital activity, SOI, and bank transactions

Who Can Use This Feature

This feature is available to:

• Ark Client Admin users
• Basic Admin users with appropriate fund access
• Fund Admin users with appropriate fund access (read/view only)

Note: arkGL is available only on the full version of the Ark platform. Contact sales@arkpes.com or your fund administrator if it’s not yet enabled.

Before You Begin

Ensure the following setup is complete:

• The fund has an active General Ledger (GL)

• The Chart of Accounts (COA) is configured

• Required Entities (investors, funds, portfolio companies, memo entities) are set up

• You’ve identified accounts with “Entity Required?” enabled in the COA

Journal entries can connect to multiple workflows across Ark:

• Capital Calls and Distributions – Journal entries can be automatically created at the time of publishing

• Investor Allocations and PCAPs – Journal entry totals can be synced into allocation files via accounts mapped to Ark Transactions in the COA

• Schedule of Investments (SOI) – Journal entries can be created from SOI investment transactions, or used to generate a corresponding SOI transaction

• Cash Receipts and Bank Feeds – Users can create journal entries from bank transactions or link a journal entry to a bank transaction

Accurate tagging and consistent formatting are key to ensuring these downstream workflows function correctly.

Step-by-Step: Adding Journal Entries

Option 1: Add a Journal Entry Manually

1. Go to General Ledger > Journal Entries

2. Click + Add New > New Journal Entry

3. Fill in required fields:

   • Journal Date

   • Fund Name

   • GL Name

   • Balanced debit and credit lines

   • Accounts (from COA)

   • Entity Type and Memo Tag (if “Entity Required?” is enabled)

4. Optional fields:

   • Description

   • Memo

   • Is Adjusting Entry

   • Attachments (PDFs, CSVs up to 20MB)

5. Click Save & Close or Save & New

Option 2: Upload in Bulk

1. Download the Journal Entry Upload Template

2. Complete the template:

   • Fund Name, GL Name, Journal Number, Journal Date

   • Account Name (exact match with COA)

   • Debit or Credit values

   • Entity Type and Memo Tag if required

3. Entity Type must be one of: Fund, Investor, PortfolioCompany, Asset, Security, or GeneralEntity. Assets and Securities tagged from Portfolio Investments use the Asset and Security entity types. Bank, Vendor and other memo entities use GeneralEntity. 

4. Save as CSV and upload via Upload From Template

5. Check Upload History to confirm success or correct errors

Step-by-Step: Posting Journal Entries

Draft entries can be posted to lock in financial activity.

From the Entry Grid

1. Select one or more entries

2. Click Post Selected or Post All

3. Confirm action

From the Detail View

1. Click View on the draft

2. Select Post to GL from the Action dropdown

3. Confirm action

Posting is permanent. Key fields in the COA (e.g. account name, account number) will become locked after use.

Step-by-Step: Editing or Deleting Journal Entries

To Edit a Draft Entry

1. Click View

2. Update fields as needed

3. Click Save & Close

To Delete a Draft Entry

1. Select the entry

2. Click Delete Selected

3. Confirm

Deleting one line removes the entire journal entry. Posted entries must be reversed instead.

How Journal Entries Connect to Other Workflows

Journal entries are tightly integrated with several core workflows across ark. They can be created automatically or manually, and in some cases, linked to transactions originating elsewhere in the platform.

• Capital Calls & Distributions
  When publishing a capital call or distribution, ark prompts you to create a journal entry. Selecting Yes generates the entry automatically. If you select No, the journal entry must be created manually to ensure activity is reflected in the GL and capital account balances.

• Investor Allocations & PCAPs
  Journal entry totals can be synced into allocation files for Capital Account Statements (PCAPs) when added to accounts that are mapped to ark Transactions in the Chart of Accounts (COA).

• Schedule of Investments (SOI)
  Journal entries and SOI transactions are bi-directionally connected:

  • You can generate a journal entry from an SOI transaction

  • You can also create an SOI transaction from a journal entry by checking the Send to SOI box when posting

• Bank Feeds
  Journal entries can originate from synced bank transactions. One side of the entry is auto-filled based on the fund, GL, and account configuration. Users complete the second side and submit it to the GL - or link a bank transaction to an existing journal entry for reconciliation.

• Cash Receipts
  When a bank transaction is tagged to a capital call and investor and the user submits it to the GL, ark automatically creates a journal entry and updates the Cash Receipts page. A draft mailing is also generated to notify the investor of the payment.

Best Practices

• Finalize your COA setup before posting entries - posting will lock GL fields

• Use Is Adjusting Entry for period-close corrections

• Reverse posted entries instead of editing them

• Attach documentation for traceability and audits

• Use bulk uploads for volume or recurring entries

• Monitor GL vs. bank balances via the Bank Feeds Dashboard

FAQ

Q: Can I delete or edit a posted entry?
No. Use the Reverse Entry feature instead.

Q: Can I link a bank transaction to an existing journal entry?
Yes, as long as the transaction is in "For Review" or "Excluded from GL" status and the journal entry matches the fund, date, amount, and GL account.

Next Steps

• Review GL activity in Reports > GL Reports

• Explore the Connecting and Managing Bank Integrations in ark Bank Feeds guide

• Configure your COA to define entity tagging rules using “Entity Required?” For more information, view the Setting Up and Managing the Chart of Accounts (COA) and Managing Memo Entities in arkGL guides

For questions or help, reach out to support@arkpes.com.